


The Final Call

by sapphicanary



Category: The Haunting of Hill House (TV 2018)
Genre: Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27249151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicanary/pseuds/sapphicanary
Summary: A fix it fic where Steve answers Nell's call because Nell deserves to live
Relationships: Eleanor "Nell" Crain & Steven Crain, Eleanor "Nell" Crain & Theodora "Theo" Crain, Shirley Crain & Theodora "Theo" Crain
Comments: 10
Kudos: 150





	The Final Call

_Buzz, buzz._

Steve pulled out his phone, looking down at the name on the screen. _Nell._

"You know who I wish would write a book?"

_Buzz, buzz._

He turned away from the woman standing in front of him for a moment, his thumb hovering above the button to end her call. But a sinking feeling settled deep in his chest, though he wasn't sure why.

"Your father."

He turned back, holding up a finger. "Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to take this." The woman waved to let him know it was okay and went on her way. He clicked answer.

"Nellie?"

He heard the sharp suck of a breath on the other side. "Nell?" he said again.

"Steve." Her shaky voice finally came through. He couldn't tell if it was with fear or anxiety or something else entirely. "I didn't... I didn't think you'd answer."

"Of course I would," he said quickly. "What's going on? Are you okay?" It was a stupid question, he knew. Nothing had been okay with Nell since Arthur died a year ago. She had been on a self destructive path that none of them knew how to handle. It was more difficult than Luke. You could send him to rehab and try to fix it but this was different. She wasn't an addict. She was grieving and hurting. The Crains were no stranger to it, but this kind of heartache wasn't anything any of them had gone through.

"Um, yeah," she sniffed. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Don't lie to me, Nell."

"I'm not—" She stopped, sighing. Steve stood, silent, waiting for her to speak. "Everything's so twisted, and it's hard to explain... I'm just worried about Luke; have you talked to him?"

Steve rubbed the back of him neck before sitting down at the desk next to him. "No, they don't allow phones in rehab. And—" he stopped for a moment, chuckling. "—if they get caught using them they get punished with public humiliation."

"What?"

"It's funnier from—nevermind." He pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew he wasn't easing any worry she had. "I can give them a call," he suggested. "Or I can give you the number, if you'd like to check up on him yourself."

"Yeah," she said, but he heard the faltering in her voice. "Yeah, can you call? There's some... there's some things I need to do."

A knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Goodbye, Steve."

Something was wrong.

"I love you."

Really wrong.

"Nellie, wait!" he yelled before she could hang up. A chill ran up his spine and he leaned forward.

"Yes?" she whispered softly.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly. "I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about Luke, that's all."

"Nellie," he muttered. Nell was never a good liar. Her voice falters, she fidgets, doesn't look you in the eyes. But Steve had never needed those things to figure out when she wasn't being truthful; he just somehow always knew. "You know I don't like to be lied to. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

Another sharp, shaky breath. "You won't..." she sniffed again. "You won't believe me."

"Try me."

There was a few second of silence. Steve was about to opened his mouth to ask her if she was still there when she starting speaking. "Do you remember The Bent-Neck Lady?"

He hesitanted for a moment. "Yes."

"She's back."

Steve hung his head. "Oh, fuck," he whispered, low enough so she wouldn't hear him. He knew where this was going. "You're still seeing her?"

He heard rustling on the other side. "Yes, but it's not like your thinking."

He tilted his head. "Like what?"

"I'm not... I'm not crazy."

Steve let out a deep sigh. "Nellie," he said slowly, "I don't think you're crazy."

"Yes, you do." Her voice shook harder. "You all do. Luke, he—Luke was the only one who believed me."

 _Figures_ , Steve thought. He tapped his fingers on the desk top. "I just think you may need new meds or at least _actually_ take the ones you have."

"It's not about the meds, Steve!" she yelled.

He was taken aback by the venom in her voice. "I'm sorry." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, okay? Um, maybe I can come over tomorrow and we can hang out. You need a break and I need a br—"

There was the loud screech of tires and a car horn blaring on the other side, cutting him off. His eyebrows furrowed. You couldn't hear cars like that from her house. "Where are you?" 

"At home."

"Don't bullshit me, Nell," he snapped, his worry suddenly growing. What reason would she have to lie? "Where the fuck are you?"

"The motel."

"Jesus," he hissed, standing so quickly, his chair flew back. There was no reason to ask which motel. He would never forget that motel or the one night he spent there for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry, Steve," she whispered, her words weak. "I'm sorry, I—"

"I want you to stay there, okay?" he said, cutting her off. He was starting to feel frantic. _She's going back to the house. She's going back to that fucking house to do God only knows what_. "I'm gonna call Shirl and she's gonna come get you, okay?"

Silence.

" _Nell!_ "

"Okay."

—

Theo leaned back, letting out a sigh of relief as the police car drove out of view. She knew she had done the right thing; gotten that little girl away from her molester, but she couldn't help but feel bad. She would go right back into the system with no stability. And who was to say it wouldn't happen again? Who's to say that little girl wouldn't fall right back into the hands of another perverted creep?

She sighed. She was getting into her own head. Or maybe the girl was still in her head. It was hard to tell anymore. 

Theo turned her key in the ignition just as her phone rang beside her. She picked it up, answering it without looking to see who it was.

"Hello."

"Hey," Shirley's voice came from the other end, sounding distressed. 

Theo shifted in her seat, sitting up a little straighter. "What's wrong?"

"I need to to meet me at the house," she said. "We need to go get Nell."

Theo's face scrunched together in confusion. "Nell? She's in Boston?"

"Yes," Shirley responded. "We need to pick her up, she's not doing well." 

Theo rolled her eyes. When was she ever doing well? "Yeah, because it sucks being Nell," she muttered bitterly, gripping her steering wheel tightly.

" _Theo_."

"What?" she snapped. "I just want an apology."

"This might not be the time."

Theo laughed, shaking her head. "Okay, so when is?" She just wanted a simple _fucking_ apology from her. They hadn't spoken since their argument a few months ago. And Theo didn't plan to talk to her until Nell was ready to apologize.

If you asked her, Theo would tell you she wanted the apology for being called a freeloader. But that wasn't it. It had never been about the jab at her staying in Shirley's guest house. What truly had hurt her more than anything was Nell trying to use her powers to feel something she didn't want to.

Theo knew Nell was grieving, she did. But she didn't want to feel someone's death. She felt enough shit with her patients and, hell, even herself. She couldn't take much more. And for Nell to try and make her use them to feel something like that made her feel taken advantage of.

But now an apology seemed like the least of her worries as soon as Shirley spoke again.

"Theo, I think Nell's going to try to kill herself."

—

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven."

Nell paced. Back and forth, back and forth. Repeating the words over and over to try and calm herself. Ground herself

"One, two, three, four, five six, seven."

Her body was heavy with exhaustion. She wanted to go home. She had to go home. But she had to wait. Just a bit longer.

Her phone suddenly rang and she jumped, dropping the drink it her hand. "Fuck," she muttered. She hadn't realized she had been holding a drink at all. She knelt down to pick it, staying there for a moment, her mind wandering. 

Though exactly where it was wandering to, she wasn't sure. Maybe to Hill House, maybe to Arthur, maybe to The Bent-Neck Lady, or maybe even to her family who had no idea what was truly going on and had never made the effort to.

Nell stood finally, blinking slowly, coming back to herself. She set down the bottle and walked over to the bed where her phone lay, still ringing. Shirley's name flashed on the screen.

She didn't grab her phone right away. Instead she waited until it stopped ringing. _12 missed calls_.

 _Jesus_ , she thought. How long had she been gone?

Her phone rang again and this time she didn't hesitate to answer. "Hey," she said quietly, sitting down on the cheap motel bed.

"Oh, Nell, thank God," Shirl sighed. Her voice was shaking and Nell could tell she was nearly in tears. "I've been calling and calling and I thought you had—" She stopped abruptly, not wanting to say anything more.

"I had what?"

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. She heard angry muttering on the other end and Nell suspected Theo must be with her. "Steve called me," Shirl said, ignoring her question.

"He said he would."

"Yeah, he's... he's worried about you. And to be honest, so am I," Shirley said. Nell picked at a loose string on the bed, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. "What are you doing at the motel, Nellie?"

"Do you remember what Mom used to say?" she murmered. The house was pulling her again, pulling her mind with its invisible strings. Pleading with her to come back. "The porch light comes on... and it's time for dinner."

"Nell. Nell, listened to me."

"I have to go home." Her voice wavered as the house pulled stronger. "It's almost dinner time."

"Nell," Shirley said forcefully. "You're not going anywhere. Stay there at the motel. We're not that far away. Five, maybe ten minutes."

Nell closed her eyes tightly. "Okay," she agreed. "Okay, Shirl."

—

She barely waited to put the car into park before unbuckling and jumping out. She was practically running until she got to the door of Nell's room. She knocked, but had no reply.

"Her car's here," she heard Theo say from behind her. "She still here."

Shirley had tried to keep her on the phone, but Nell hung up shortly after she had agreed to stay. Shriley didn't cry, not then. She screamed. The fear and anger boiled over and she fucking _screamed_. She had startled Theo so badly she had swerved the car.

Now, here, she felt no different. She wanted to scream again because now they couldn't find her and they were so close. "That doesn't mean she hasn't—" She stopped, not wanting to say what they were both thinking. They couldn't fucking _do_ this again. First with their mother and now maybe Nell. They couldn't. It practically tore their family apart before, she couldn't imagine what it would do now.

Theo stood next to her and banged on the room door. One, two, three times. When there was no response, she banged even harder. One, two, three. Theo's breath quickened and Shirley felt her hands shaking. 

_Come on, Nell, please. Please be okay._

Theo yelled and hit the door again and she flinched. "It's okay," Shirl said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her."

Theo tilted her head slightly and looked into her eyes and Shirley saw they were filled with tears nearly ready to spill down her cheeks. Theo opened her mouth to say something just as a familiar voice drifted over to them.

"H-hey." They turned to see Nell standing a few doors down, holding a steaming cup a coffee in her hands. She looked so small and fearful and fragile. "I waited."

They nearly ran over each other to get to her, to hug her, feel her. Shirley tried to stiffle her sobs, but she couldn't contain herself now that she knew Nell was okay, _alive_. She could feel Nell shaking violently under their embrace and only held tighter.

—

"I need to go back. It's dinner time. Mom will be worried."

Theo layed her hand on Nell's shoulder. "You don't need to go back right now. You're with us."

Shirley stood, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She was biting her nails, her eyes trained on Nell. "The porch light is on."

"You can't see the porch light from here," Shirley said irritated. Theo glared at her and shook her head. This wasn't the time to get angry. Something was happening to Nell, something they had all witnessed before. With their mother.

"She's slipping."

"She's what?"

Theo sighed and pushed back a few strands of Nell's hair away from her face. She looked up at her through glossy eyes. "Mom will be mad."

"I'll explain it was my fault we were late, okay? You won't get in trouble."

"Don't—don't do that."

Theo snapped her gaze to look at her sister. "Don't do what?"

Shirley threw her hands up. "Don't play into it, Theo!"

She let put a deep sigh. "Just shut the fuck up, Shirl. I don't think this is as simple as you think."

"Oh, seriously? You want to..." Theo stopped listening and kept her gaze on Nell, who was staring ahead, a blank expression on her face. Without thinking she started to take of her gloves. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not—she didn't _like_ using her powers—but goddammnit she need to know. She needed to know. So, she reached out and she touched her.

In an instant she felt it all. The pain, the fear, the anger, the _pulling_. Oh, God the pulling. The house was pulling her, filling her with a dark, black emptiness. And it was _pulling_ her towards it. Like a moth to a flame.

Theo stepped back slowly, her hands shaking, eyes pooling with tears. Nausea rose in the back of her throat and she wasn't sure if it was from Nell or herself.

"What?" Shirley said, no longer ranting. "Theo, what the hell?"

She looked down at her hands, wanting to bury her face in them and scream. Just scream and scream until her voice gave out and her lungs were on fire. "Oh, my God, Nellie," she whispered quietly, so quietly they almost didn't hear.

Shirl stood quickly. "Theo? Hello?" She snapped her fingers in front of her face, but Theo didn't respond. She couldn't.

"She touched me," Nell said, finally out of her trance.

"What?"

"Theo—she touched me."

Shirley scoffed, walking over to the small desk and sitting down. "Okay, I still don't understand."

Nell crossed her legs and glanced at Theo who was still staring at her shaking hands. "You know what happens when she touches people, Shirl."

"No."

"You do."

Shirley dropped her shoulders and shook her head. " _No_ ," she said again, more firmly.

"Shirley, I felt it," Theo whispered, anger rising in her, though she wasn't sure at what. "I felt that fucking house. It's... it's _calling_ to her. It wants her."

She looked away from them, clenching her jaw. Theo could tell she was battling between was she knew was real and what she wanted to believe was real. "Shirley, you know."

She shut her eyes. "Shirley," Theo said again. "You _know_. Don't pretend you don't."

Shirl nodded, her eyes still shut. 

Theo strided over to her sister, taking her hands in her own. "The house wants her," she was pleading with her to believe her. Nell had spent years trying to convince them it all was real and they had all turned a blind eye because it was easier. But they couldn't do that now and Theo needed Shirl to know that. "I don't know why but it does." They both locked eyes. "It wants to take her and it wants to _kill_ her. I could feel it spreading it's darkness and... and calling to her."

Shirley nodded, looking nearly as small and fearful as Nell had a few moments ago. "Okay... okay." She swalled the lump that had formed in her throat and squeezed Theo's hands. "And we won't let it." She looked at Nell who's eyes were glossed over as she slipped away again. "Because that's what big sisters do. Right?"


End file.
